Imaginations of the Reality
by Hellhound of Salazar
Summary: A first person novel of my own creation follows the character into the true reality where the Greek gods have become corrupted over time and they now shroud humanity of the way the Earth has become due to their neglect. Ancient history with a bit of a futuristic feel shows man eating plants and a philosophical debate over what is "reality". Inspired by the Matrix trilogy.
1. Chapter 1

Imaginations of the reality

I: The pen

Wednesday: 3:20pm English Language

I sat at the desk with my hand resting in the palm of my hand, the teacher lectured us again on "how to write realistic stories". It had been the same all week, apparently some bloke was coming in to take the lesson tomorrow, apparently he had inspired or tutored some of the famous authors, yet none of the names that were mentioned had any form of reality to them.

My right hand moved absent-mindedly, drawing images of creatures that had come from the deepest and darkest parts of my imagination; weapons, people, animals, plants…everything and anything I could think of. I wondered what it would be like if it was real, obviously it wouldn't, it would be far too terrifying with no hope of survival, but if it was…what would it be like to change the course of a full scale war? This world I had created; it wasn't as simple as a good resistance led by a dashing hero who falls in love with the girl and saves the world and brings justice to tyranny of the evil oppressors. _Nothing_ is that simple, that's why the stories didn't sound or feel real. Admittedly, the characters may _think_ they are good, they may _think_ that the enemy is evil, but who is right to give such descriptions? What is _good_ and what is _evil_? The subject is too subjective to be able to define one as _good_ and another as _evil_ as there really is no such thing. This world, it wasn't one of good versus evil, it was belief versus non-belief. Belief in a prophecy and mythology against a belief in reality. So if I was a part of the war, what would I do? I would have to pick sides, it would be a case of "if you are not my friend then you are my enemy" type of thing, fighting both sides alone would have no effect, unless you happened to be some crazy, prophesised nutcase with special powers and abilities. The teacher, Mrs Davies, was now lecturing us on how to begin our stories. I almost laughed aloud when she said that a story almost always started with an unimportant character, eager to correct her, I raised my hand.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Technically, the starting character always has importance and so it is, in theory, foolish to say that this character is unimportant," I smiled slyly, almost bordering a smirk as she frowned. "This character may or may not be the hero or heroine, they may not be the villain or the person with the plans, but this starting character is, in fact, the _most_ important character in the whole story."

"And why is that Carl?" she asked, trying to catch me out, realising that I was onto something. I wasn't going to be caught out that easily, I composed myself and continued.

"Because it is that starting characters job to gain the attention and captivate the reader. If this character fails to achieve that then the rest of the book is ignored and any future publications become, as you said, _unimportant_ and are ignored."

She looked vaguely impressed which was unusual. She nodded and looked up at the clock that was on the wall above the whiteboard. Three minutes left. "You may all leave, dismissed." There was a rustle of papers and the scraping of chairs before the door was thrown open and everyone joined the bustling crowds in the corridor, I joined them, melting into the masses as they rushed to their homes.

Friday: 2:30pm

As I took my usual seat in the far corner I noticed another man stood in the room with us.

"Now, today we have a guest who wishes to take the lesson today. He has inspired many authors and guided them, through their careers. I would like to introduce, Mr Korvardash." A few snickered at the name but a glanced at the steely blue eyes silenced them quickly. I was alert instantly from the moment I saw those eyes, this was no ordinary tutor, this man seemed like he was a _'take my help or leave it' _type of man. He had thin, dirty blonde hair to his shoulders, a fair amount of stubble and a thin frame of body. Not to mention that his name, _Korvardash, _was too similar to the _Korvash_ man I had imagined. Despite his unshaven appearance, he was dressed in a casually smart fashion. He wore a pale blue, short sleeved shirt with black trousers and shoes.

"Right, let's get to business shall we?" his vice seemed dry and raspy, as if he was dehydrated but it was firm with a hint of a tone that allowed no argument. He seemed to have a weathered look about him as if he had been travelling for a while rather than simply driving over to the university. "I want you to simply write for 30 minutes. In this time, I want you to write a story that is directly from within your own imagination." He said this line slowly, as if there could be no room for failure, as if the lives of a civilisation depended on the class doing this. "The most imaginative will receive this prize, also the winner will also be taken with me when I leave this area to go and learn more tricks on how to write a story so realistic that it doesn't need to have anything real about it. A bit like _Alice in Wonderland_." He looked us over with those cold blue eyes, as if he was searching for one specific thing. "Begin."

As everyone seized their pens and scribbled down whatever they could think of, I looked at my annotated sketches, I thought about the similarities of _Korvardash_ and _Korvash_. I knew what I needed to write, it was just a case of doing it right first time. As we went about our business, scribbling away, Mr Korvardash walked around the tables, quietly reading parts of the stories and moving on, never commenting, not even for Mrs Davies work. As he reached my table, I felt my heart race as he drew nearer to my work. Would he think I was mocking his name if he saw my work? Would he rip it up or disqualify me? But no, all he did was read it quietly, as I watched him through the corner of my eye, I saw that he read it silently to himself and so he never read the part similar to his name, but even so, in his face I saw a hint of surprise and…recognition? Then I realised, it was not my writing that astonished him, but my pictures.

"Stop now please." Placing my pen down like many others, I felt a twinge of disappointment. If he recognised my work, then he must have seen something similar before, if he had then it meant that I had no chance of winning. No chance of making this story feel more real. I walked up to the desk at the front silently. Even though at least ten other people were with me I felt like I was alone, his eyes stared into mine, judging and intimidating, but I would not back down. I returned his stare and placed my work on the top, I then turned and walked out of the room.

Saturday: 14:27

A knock at the door brought me back to reality. I got up from my worktable, placing my pen down and went to the door. To my surprise there stood Mr Korvardash with his cold stare and weathered face. "Carl Thompson?" he asked bluntly. I nodded and allowed him inside. We sat at the table opposite each other. He looked over my work again before I moved it aside. He placed my work from yesterday in its place. "Can you tell me, where you got this idea from?" he asked, his tone suggested I did something wrong.

"It was just an idea I had had before you came. Why? Is it someone else's idea and its copyrighted?"

He laughed. "Hell, no its not," He placed a thin box on the table. "This is yours, if you want it." He lifted the lid and there sat a pen, completely black and shiny. I went to touch it but he pulled it away. "I must warn you, if you take this pen, things will become more difficult, more…real." He looked at me concerned. "It is difficult to explain it without experiencing it first, but if you accept this, it is difficult to return. Admittedly it has been done, but it is difficult and dangerous."

I frown, not understanding very well. "What are you saying? Put it simply."

"Fine then. The world you have written about is real. The war, the people just about everything, minus a few details."

I snorted at him. "Really?"

"Yes, the name you wrote…_Korvash_…that name is similar to mine because I _am_ that person. I am a messenger and enlightener, showing the reality to those who are able to write about this. I cannot tell you much more unless you accept this pen." He looked at me expectantly, judging if I would or not.

"What does it actually do? If what you say is true, then it isn't for writing stories. If you want me to accept it then you have to tell me what it does and why you want me to do it."

He chuckled to himself before answering, "The pen, as you say is not for writing stories. It is actually a mental and physical transporter, made of what is called obsidian in this place. The war had a prophecy, that a person would have their vision cleared and would lead the people to reality and defeat the gods that seek to shroud our eyes in order to gain control. However, it would be too easy for the person to be found and so the gods added a twist, there would be multiple people who would know and write of this, but only one could restore balance and reality," he stopped talking and briefly showed a sign of pain. "I cannot say much more, but I hope to find this person, that is my task. Now, will you accept my offer?"

I glanced at the pen…transporter, whatever it was. "What do I have to do?"

"Take hold of the pen."

"Then?"

"Save everyone."

I took the pen.


	2. Chapter 2

II: Hell in a shell

Taking hold of the pens cold surface sent an unusual heat through my body. I heard Mr Korvardash beside me. "This will hurt, but it must be done. The veil of the gods is strong and it clings to the surface of the eyes and the mind. It must be removed if you are to survive. Don't struggle." A misty cloud shrouded my eyes and I felt the temperature rising and an odd scraping sensation around my eyes and within my head. As the sensations intensified, I moaned with pain but forced myself to not fight against it, as it became almost unbearable the pain faded away until only the heat and the mist remained. "Good, now all that remains is to transport you to reality, then we can talk of this further." As his voice faded away, I was soon to realise that the pain I had just endured would be nothing in comparison to what came next. I felt a hand, or something of the sort, plunge into my body and pull something out. I saw a pale ghost like figure of myself and screamed as it was ripped apart. The hand then pushed something inside me, an icon of some sort that I couldn't recognise. Whatever it was it fit and my screams subsided and my pain vanished.

The mist cleared, revealing a metal room and a ghostly pen with a stack of papers. I reached out to touch it and then thought better of it. Opposite me sat the messenger. "Mr Korvard-" he raised a hand to stop me.

"This is reality now, so you must adapt."

"How? I know nothing of this place…" I looked desperately around trying to get my bearings.

"You already know. Remember, you imagined parts of this. Begin with this…who am I?

I looked at him and remembered the classroom, how he looked at my work with recognition, how he stared judgingly…the names, something about the names…

"Not Korvardash…but _Korvash_ instead." I stared at him as those blue eyes grew ever colder, for a moment I worried thinking I was wrong. He looked at me sadly. "What is wrong? Did I answer wrong? Do I have to go back?"

"No, not at all, in fact you must stay, at least for a bit longer. You need to be filled in. Now before we leave this building know this; this pile of papers and this pen is you way out. Should you become too afraid and feel that you are not able to deal with the harshness of reality, then simply take hold of the pen and write 'Endex'. This will send you back to the shrouded world you have come from with all your memories of this removed. A painless experience."

"So what do I need to do? What is it you need to tell me before I do this?" He laughed at me for that.

"You make it sound like you'll march up to Olympus and just tell them sort themselves out," he looked at me and his face grew more serious, he clapped his hands and a small light appeared, putting his face into shadow as the light flickered across his face like a candle. However, this light source did not seem to come from anything, and it was a dark green colour. "In the place you have just come from, there was a small amount of truth in the world. Do you recall the Greek gods?"

I frowned at this. "Yes," I said slowly. "But surely if everything there was shrouded from us, then how do we know that is real?" Listening to my question he nodded thoughtfully.

"Very philosophical of you," he commended me thoughtfully. "However, I must say that the Greek gods are, indeed, very real. They became corrupted after a while of being in power for too long, poisoned by the effects of humanity. How they look what they are like and so on, the only thing we got right were their names and their responsibilities. Then they changed with humanity, becoming the gods of Rome, but this time the responsibilities and names changed, some largely, some not as much, but since the collapse of the Roman Empire we no longer keep track of the gods. Instead they shrouded us, for what reason, we do not know, but what we do know is that they forced us to think something else, to fight and kill each other." He trailed off, staring at me whilst I tried to absorb everything.

"So, in general. Greek gods are real, but only in name and responsibility and they changed as humans evolved and then they turned round to lie to us and make us kill each other." I summarised.

"Pretty much, there is more but I need to get you somewhere secure first." He stood up and smacked the wall behind him. As he pulled away, a vertical rectangle of dark green light appeared and came out of the wall revealing a weapons rack filled with odd, ranged weapons, and simple close combat blades. He pulled out one of the ranged weapons and placed it on the table. As I reached towards it, he stabbed a finger at me. "One rule! Don't touch anything you don't know about fully," He ordered. "That weapon has a biological sensor so it identifies the user, if it's the wrong person it explodes in their hands." I sharply withdrew my hand from the volatile weapon and stared warily at it as if it was a volatile volcano. Korvash pulled out a simple sword and shield and offered them to me. When I didn't move he laughed. "Don't worry, close combat weapons have no sensors on them." They felt heavy in my hands and it was difficult to see things.

"Why are these heavy, and why can't I see properly?"

"You're still adapting to reality, your eyes are used to being shielded and protected from real things in the world, and the same goes for everything such as hunger and thirst. Now, I need you to focus. Out there is a world of dangers, even the plants are lethal. I want you one step behind me at all times and I also want you to do whatever I say without hesitation. Until we can prepare you for this world in a way that you understand it, you will not survive." He took a step outside, somehow the door had slid open without a sound, either that or my hearing was still adapting. It was dark outside, but the sky had a metallic look about it.

"Why is the sky like that?" I asked.

"Ah, that is the shell that surrounds us, nobody knows what is outside that shell, but we think that's where the gods are." He laughed aloud at his own inner thoughts.

"What?"

"I like to call this place, 'hell in a shell'." I laughed along with him. If the planet was as bad as he said it was, then he wouldn't be wrong. "We will give it half an hour for your eyes to adapt properly to the light, then we will make a move. Until then I will tell you about this weapon."

"…so that's how the MK III multi-rifle works." Korvash finished his lecture on the rectangular shaped rifle.

"Okay, so it's not a volatile volcano." I grinned. A rustle to my left brought my attention to a small cluster of green bushes. I tapped Korvash on the shoulder. "Did you hear that? Over by those bushes?" He raised his weapon and motioned for me to crouch in the shadows, summoning a ball of green light, he made a pushing motion that threw the light into the bushes before bursting brightly. A surprise cry came out and a humanoid figure stumbled out, I held onto my sword and shield firmly, waiting for my ally to make the first move. Another light, this time, when it reached the person, it didn't burst, it just stayed there, showing the figures helmet with a damaged eye lens. Korvash held his weapon ready.

"Hell!" he rasped.

"In a shell. Now stop blinding me Korvash, damn you!" The light dwindled and Korvash lowered his weapon, but I was not convinced. I stayed in my corner of shadows, preparing myself to defend myself if necessary. The two men started talking in hushed voices, arguing by the sounds of it. They often looked around to see if anyone or anything was around. "Why are you here? Just because you live longer, doesn't mean that you're immortal. You weren't supposed to leave the capsule anyway." Korvash motioned for me to come over. Slowly I made my way over to the men. I noticed that the man had removed his helmet. He had some dark hair that was close cropped in a tidy, military style and he also had his own MK III multi-rifle. A bulky frame was concealed in a suit of armour that covered every piece of flesh in interlocking plates. Each shoulder pad had an icons each, the left one was a circle with three lightning bolts, one coming from the left, right and centre points at the top, and meeting at the bottom. The right hand side had an oval with a mountain. It had a pathway leading up to a temple. He noticed this and spoke gruffly, pointing to the lightning bolts. "This one shows that I am sworn directly to the cause of Zeus," Noticing my frown he continued. "Means that I am dedicated to putting my efforts into making Zeus realise what he is meant to be." I nodded, now understanding him.

"So each person has different one according to who they support most?" He nodded, then pointing to the other one. "What is that for?"

"This one is an icon of Olympus. It is on everyone's right hand shoulder pad who is dedicated to freeing the Greek gods from their stupidity," He gestured to me with his index and middle digit. "Now, who are you, before I shoot you?"

I glared at him, furious with his comment. "First, don't make threats if you don't need them. Secondly, who are you to ask who I am and threaten my life when you haven't told me your own identity? And thirdly, I am Carl Thompson."

The man stared me down, and as I stared back unwavering, he roared with laughter. "I like this one Korvash," he clasped my shoulder in a vice like grip. "You brought us some entertainment rather than false hope. Makes a bloody change." Korvash looked away, holding his temper by what I could see, then it click on what he had just called me. I spun out of his grip, kicked the rifle from his hands and placed the sword point at his throat.

"Is this entertaining enough for you?" I snarled at him. "Who are you? Tell me, or I'll kill you here and now. And I don't make threats, only promises."

He looked at me coolly, perfectly motionless. "Well, well. It seems you have brought us a fighter after all Korvash, I commend you. Years of guessing and now you-"

"Your name." I ordered, pushing the point in slightly further, allowing a dribble of blood to run free. He glanced at me colder than ever, and then I noticed that his eyes were entirely black, unnatural.

"You wouldn't kill me now, would you?" he purred. Obviously he was used to people giving way to the soft voice he put on but all it did was agitate me. I flexed my fingers.

"Death it is then." As I began to press down, he squeaked a word out, I paused. "What?"

"Saradesh. My name is Saradesh." I removed my sword from him and hooked the weaon on the blade and handed it to him. He frowned at this.

"Why not pick it up?" he asked. I smirked at him and glanced at Korvash who had been watching carefully.

"Well, I'd rather not pick up a volatile volcano and have it blow me to Olympus. I'll take my chances walking."

Korvash, Saradesh and I forged a path through the forest, walking on rocks and in rivers as much as possible. But it was an eerie place, dark and threatening. There was something else I couldn't put my finger on either, but it bugged me continuously, making me paranoid. I gripped my sword tighter, prepared for anything but nothing ever came. It was only when we paused that I realised what it was. Without the sound of breathing, footsteps, flowing waters and snapping twigs, I realised what made the place so eerie. It was silent.

"Why is it-" I began to ask but Saradesh clamped his hand around my mouth, black eyes darting around, searching the deepest shadows. His helmet was back on, concealing his features, only his eyes were visible through the damaged lens, he had refused a new one from within the building. Korvash also had a suit of armour, identical to the one Saradesh was using but with an undamaged eye lens and his icon was a helmet with wings, rather than lightning bolts. He had told me, before we set of, that the icon was a symbol of Hermes, the messenger god. Apparently I couldn't have a suit of armour because I hadn't been measured yet and like the weapons, they had Bio-sensors meaning that they would fill me with spikes if I wore it. I made a mental note not to touch anything that hadn't belonged to me, these people were highly paranoid of people nicking their stuff.

Saradesh pointed to an area of trees above them, a few seconds, both Korvash and Saradesh remained motionless. I suppose they were communicating with something in their suits. Then Saradesh placed his rifle on the floor and drew a knife. The blade was double edged. One side was smooth and the other had teeth, like a saw. It was a ten inch long blade with at least another seven and a half inches for the hilt. The end of the hilt was moulded into the head of an eagle, the animal associated with Zeus. Saradesh climbed a nearby tree at leapt from branch to branch, scurrying along some of the thinner ones like a squirrel. It was interesting how someone so bulky could be able to do such a thing until I realised that I was in reality and that branches here may be far stronger than where I was only hours ago. Saradesh vanished in the darkness, before a scream ripped through the air and two figures crashed to the ground writhing until one was pinned under the other with a knife at its throat. Korvash went over to the two figures cautiously, weapon raised. I hooked Saradesh's weapon on my sword again and followed the follower of the messenger god. Saradeash was kneeling on top of another person, also clad in similar armour but the icons were odd. One was a pit, with various items being thrown into it, and the other was a skull with four eyes and a pair of mandibles rather than a set of jaws.

"Light." Saradesh demanded. Korvash summoned the green light again hovered it over the persons face, only it wasn't a person but some form of humanoid…bug. Saradesh began speaking to it with a series of clicking noises. After a response, clearly not the one our violent friend wanted, Saradesh smashed his fist in the things face twice. More clicking and more face smashing revealed no suitable answers by the look on Saradesh's face. Whatever he wanted, he wasn't getting it. With a roar of anger, he stabbed the thing in the eyes and the throat. Its death was swift but painful, but I didn't feel anything, just a stab of respect for the man sat on it. He stood up and spat on the things corpse. "Fucking bugs!" He turned towards me. "How heavy is that blade of yours? I haven't eaten meat for a few days." I looked at him, slightly worried about his sanity and wondered if the action and his anger had gone to his head. Then Korvash turned to me. "Come on, we haven't got all night. Before scavengers get here." I passed them my weapon and watched, horrified, as the cut up the creature. They gutted it and removed as much meat as they could get from it. "Damned thing has nothing on it." Saradesh laughed as he swallowed a raw sliver of dark meat. He offered me a slice. "Come on, you need the energy." I stared at the meat. I was hungry, but I didn't want to eat the flesh of the dead. Enemy or not. I shook my head to which Saradesh shrugged and ate himself. Korvash wasn't holding back either. Once they ate their fill, they cleaned their blades, handed me back my sword and we moved away quickly. As I looked back, something seized the corpse and dragged it away into the forest. After a few minutes I heard a rustle and the snap of a twig which we all turned towards.

"You cleaned everything, right?" Korvash asked warily. Saradesh nodded, then looked down to see a splash of blood on his knee.

"Shit! We need to move. Now!" They began to turn and run but a massive creature jumped over us and landed in front of us. Whatever this was, it was no scavenger.

"VARAKELP! MOVE NOW!" I stumbled and tripped as I tried to escape the monster. It crashed towards me, snorting. I found I was unable to move as it came closer but before anything could happen to me, a flash of green and purple light exploded, making it shriek as I covered my eyes. I felt a hand seize the back of my shirt and as it hauled me up, I took a look at the creature. The creature, or 'Varakelp' as Korvash called it, was an odd mixture of spider and tortoise, only about 18ft tall with two heads that moved independently. Each one had two black eyes, darker than anything that could be imagined. In fact, there was no shine to them, I wasn't sure if there were eyes in there or if they were empty sockets. There were eight legs that stabbed into the ground, holing it in place. One of these slapped whoever was dragging me away and a mouth descended and swallowed me whole.

The Varakelp, sure of the demise of the weaker of the humans, turned towards the two dangerous ones. One had been knocked away and lay motionless on a tree root, whilst the other glared through a shattered eye lens. It fired at the Varakelp, but the rounds pinged of its shell, not leaving any sign that it had been touched. It felt something move within itself as it moved towards the human, a stabbing and ripping sensation. The Varakelp, keeled over onto its back, its legs curled up and I smashed my way out of its stomach, covered in black blood and slime. Korvash groaned as he got up from the tree and squinted at me. I pointed at the creature I was stood in and laughed.

"You should smell the stomach of that thing Korvash. That really is hell in a shell." We laughed crazily, adrenaline pumping through us. "Im gonna have a hell of a time cleaning this crap off me." I observed.

Saradesh smirked at me, and although his tone was sarcastic, I knew he was proud and a little amazed. "How observant of you, Varakelp slayer. Come on, we are almost at camp. We can get you cleaned, named, de-briefed, fed and watered tonight if we move ourselves." he turned to Korvash who was staggering over. "Come on lazy, you might be right about this." Then he turned and winked at me. "That was fantastic entertainment, thanks."

"I'm here all week." I retorted.


	3. Chapter 3

Imaginations of the Reality

Chapter III-Recruitment

The military headquarters was an empty building of smooth and cold black metal, like obsidian…but metal; I asked Korvardash about it and he said that it was part of the reality. Apparently obsidian wasn't a stone. Obsidian was actually a metal ore that could only be found and extracted from certain diamonds, it didn't make sense why it could be found in some diamonds and not others, but that was the way it was and I didn't really care about it that much.

Inside were several patrols of the security men and women, each wearing that protective, bronze armour, each with one icon of Olympus and one of the icons of their chosen god or goddess that they most wanted to raise and bring back to the reality of their world. The patrols were 4 to a team; two men, two women, one with medical training, two specialising in ranged battle, two specialised in close combat. One had a heavy ranged weapon to provide fire support. The other three had standard rifles and side arms. The side arms consisted of a small pistol and a 10 inch, double edged knife. The close combat specialists had rounded, bronze shields strapped to their backs and the also had a 25.6 inch, double edged short sword, perfect for stabbing, not so much for slicing though, for me, I would prefer a slashing blade, like one for the cavalry, that's where you could fight as an individual rather as a team.

Korvardash led me to the centre of the headquarters to the recruitment centre, according to their 'Stratigos'. He was in charge of all the military action within this capsule. His name was Colossus…typical really considering his size and position. He had no visible weapons on him, but the muscles on his arms were enough for me to decide not to attack him. Colossus at first was reluctant to allow me in as I was a "kid" and a "waste of resources and equipment". It's so nice to be popular. After hearing about my fight with the Varakelp, he was much less reluctant, especially as I already had my own sword, even if it was a different design. Eventually my sizes were taken down and a suit of the bronze armour was underway to be produced, however because I was supposed to 'save the gods' I was not given the opportunity to choose a god or goddess of my own. Instead I was made a design of Olympus shrouded in clouds with a figure with a raised sword, stabbing into the clouds. It was like I was some sort of messiah.

Training was brutal and cruel, daily runs and fights, weight lifting and more fighting. Occasionally I was sent out to fight the creatures of the forest and deserts to test my speed, agility, strength and toughness, according to them I was a natural at close combat, like a traditional Spartan. Great, so I was like a dead guy from thousands of years ago, thanks guys. I was given a block for myself to rest in when I wasn't training, they tried to make me go to the Assembly to learn democratic and philosophical debates I told them "I can't kill with words". The only issue was magic. I couldn't perform magic, I tried, it would have been great to fight with magic but apparently I couldn't. To my surprise they were pleased by this, a lack of magic meant that I was most likely to be the saviour of the gods. That was another thing, the gods. "The gods aren't gods, they are superior beings…"

I looked at Korvash and then at Colossus and back again. "What? How can gods not be gods? That doesn't make sense, why call them gods?"

It was Colossus who answered. "Politics," he spat. "It's bloody politics all over. Fucking things around and making hypocrites of us as fucking usual." Korvardash nodded. "It's true, they are superior beings that guided us through our existence, and they brought order to us, ensuring that the Titans and Giants didn't take over. The Giants and Titans are more powerful beings than the gods but only when they are fuelled by the misery and pain of humanity. To gain full, permanent power, they would have to divide the gods and the humans, not only from each other but from themselves. Once they had done this they could destroy humanity and harvest the souls of the dead and open the underworld, consuming the human souls and releasing the most powerful Titan, Kronos."

I frowned, "So why do we call them gods?"

"Because we don't understand them, we are limited by our knowledge and our language, mostly the latter. The same applies for the Titans and the Giants but that is how it works. The gods allow democracy and unity whilst the others seek to destroy it and bring back Kronos. We would attack them but without the gods we do not stand a chance and without the Chosen, we cannot bring the gods back to reality." Korvardash looked sadly at me. "We have had many attempt this before but they succumbed to fear, madness or death. It is difficult to find the chosen and we are not sure if it's you or not we only know the signs."

I scowled at their words. "So you want to just throw me out there and see what happens. Fine then, I will go, but I won't have a team, I'll go alone. If you want to help, follow me at a distance and clean up the mess behind me."

Colossus glared at me. "That is not what we trained you for-"

"No it's not. You trained me to be like everyone else, to fight as a unit to follow orders. I am not, I am the Chosen, I am not a standard solider, and I am not part of a unit. I will not follow orders, I will lead and you can either stay out of the way or follow behind me." I stood up and began to equip myself with weapons, ammunition, provisions and a map. That way I would be able to visit other capsules along the way to re-arm and get more provisions. Olympus was outside the Shell, so I will break that shell and damn what anyone else says.


	4. Chapter 4

Imaginations of the Reality

Chapter IV-Chosen

Welcome to my hell. Yes, MY hell. Why is it mine? Because I am the Chosen and until the gods were enlightened then I will make the rules and if people do not abide by them then they can move out of my way and keep their mouth shut. I strode out of the building and straight to the nearest exit, followed by cheering citizens, they were loud…too loud and they were in the way, democracy can come later, what was needed now was a reality check. How should I do that? I smirked and raised my eyes from the map, dictatorship will work rather well, if that's what you could call it that. I fired three rounds into the air, the rounds vaporising as they passed through the shields of the Capsule.

"Silence! I am not a hero; I am not your hero. I am no saviour, no messiah or anything of the sort. I am the Chosen. I am here because the gods became to god-damned lazy to do their job properly so I must go and sort them out. It is not a cause for celebration, it is not a joyous event, and this is the fucking truth. Those who will obey me and are trained to fight can follow me; those who are not can stay here. I do not need you, but you need me, to come with me is your choice and your choice alone, you must accept that you may die and that I may die but it is your choice, not mine. Your responsibility, your life." When I walked again it was silent, overawed and I did not expect anyone to follow me, I was here to sort out the lazy being up above us, not to be nice.

When I arrived at the north-west gate, they let me through instantly. I was followed by thirty men and women, all armoured and equipped with weapons. Korvardash remained inside and Saradesh went out alone, claiming he would scout ahead and spread the word to the other Capsules. I turned to my small contingent of troops. "You have followed me, willing to lay your lives down for me. I was a mere child, little more than 15 years of age. Your training regime has turned that boy into a man, into the Chosen. He will fight for you, he will die for you but I will not command you. Your actions are your own as are mine, if you wish for me to command you then speak now." They nodded collectively and they followed as they left. I ran ahead into the forest, I didn't want them right behind me all the time so I told them I was going north to the next Capsule. It was surprising to see that the continued to follow me. Darkness began to fall as we reached a rocky cliff side after 8 hours of marching, nothing had attacked us during the day, and it was at night that we would need to be more aware. Luckily the cliff had a large cave where they set up, fires were lit as they ate and drank heartily. A pair of guards stood just inside the cave, concealed in the shadows, each shift was two hours, one swapped every our so one was always fresh and awake. I ate an apple as I sat in the tree 300 meters away from the cave; it was at night that we had to keep our senses sharp. I fell asleep.

It was at night we were ambushed, the guards saw the creatures as they attacked and opened fire, waking everyone. I watched as the creatures charged forwards on four legs with bow and arrows, turning away at the last moment in an arc that brought them out of sight. One guard was lifted off his feet by an arrow embedded in his chest. I began to clamber down my tree, unslinging my rifle. When I was on a lower branch, I sat against the trunk and fired in short bursts, taking down several of the beasts within a few minutes. The soldiers organised themselves, firing into the enemy with concentrated bursts of fire until only one remained, he raised a sword and brought it down to slice his arm, and they stopped firing. It spoke with a level voice.

"I challenge your leader to single close combat." At these words I watched the commander lower his ranged weapons, drawing his sword, at the same time I dropped from the tree drawing my own.

"You there, stop and return to your troops. You fight for me and in these circumstances I am your leader." The man turned and nodded, returning to his force of men and they sat and waited intently. "What are you, creature?"

It snorted and it spoke again. "I am a Centaur fool! We were abandoned by those who wished to serve the humans and hater of the so-called gods. We fight for the unity of our own kind and we will destroy all others who will not help us. You wish to bring back the gods, you will fail, even now a titan goes to destroy the gods, and Prometheus seeks his revenge on Zeus for his unjust punishment." He charged at me on his four legs, impossibly fast as he slashed at me with a curved sword as I rolled away. I noted my armour had become more traditional, that of a Spartan. I glared at the Centaur and stood again. He fired three arrows which I slid past. The blood of the Centaurs had soaked into the ground. He sliced again, somehow switching from bow to sword in the blink of an eye. This time I rolled forward and not to the side, I sliced my sword into the legs of the Centaur. He whinnied and collapsed, his momentum rolling him over and snapping his neck. I hissed as my arms jolted. As I regained my feet my armour returned to its normal carapace and I turned back to 29 faces of shock. That was how they gave me my name. In reality I was Leonidas.

Leonidas. He was the Spartan king who had been killed fighting the slave armies of Persia. Leonidas. The man who had had not been of the royal family and had had to train to fight and lead because he was better. Leonidas. The descendent of Heracles. That was the Leonidas of the Ancient times, now there was me, now named Leonidas. I was not part of reality and so I had been taught to fight and had become in charge of these men and women because I was better. Saradesh was here and he heard it, spreading the word to the Capsules that Leonidas had returned as the Chosen, to save ourselves from the ignorance of the gods. It was this I was named, I did not choose this title, it was given to me. I was not a hero; I did this because no one else could.


	5. Chapter 5

Imaginations of the Reality

Chapter V – War

I could no longer dictate what I did. I couldn't just shoot into the air to shut people up, I couldn't just kill them. Stories of how I had killed the Centaur were greatly elaborated. I told them over and over. "I didn't kill him; he broke his neck when he fell when I cut his leg. Anyone could have done that." They didn't listen; higher citizens said I was being modest, military forces flocked to me, forming a small army. I was no longer my own person, I had no free will, I had no choice. I had to be their hero, I had to follow this quest, I had to take the honours, the parades and the screaming and cheering people. The only thing I did was ignore them, I looked impassively at them, I was Leonidas, and therefore I was a Spartan. Spartans were strong so I would be strong, even Spartans had some form of diplomacy, some form of recognition of debate and decision making. I looked in their archives, a mob of followers leaving sacrifices and offerings to the gods because of my 'return'. I was one against many, and Leonidas had done the same. The Spartans had held their own meetings. It explained why I didn't like the Assemblies that each of the Capsules had. It was very…Athenian of them. The way they fought and trained was like Sparta but their diplomacy was one Ancient Athens. So I did my homework, so to speak. The Spartans had held councils that anyone could attend. People would present their views to the audience in one room whilst officials sat in the other room. The officials would listen to the noise made by the audience, the officials would decide if the audience approved of the idea or not depending on how loud it was. I decided to do the same and it was within a few days that I found myself stood before the crowd of 8000 men, women and children. I waited for them to be silent. I opened up with my favourite thought.

"This is MY hell. I make the rules and those that do not abide by those rules will fall by our strength. We will raise the gods; make them return to our reality. This is MY hell and rule one is to accept and share MY hell with you. You have a choice before you. I can lead your forces like Leonidas led his forces to war at the Battle of Thermopylae, or…" The sound of the roaring people was amazing but I shouted them down. "Or you can lead your own men and I will go alone and you can follow at your own discretion. Shout for me to lead you!" The roars and screams of men women and children were on an epic scale. I raised a hand for silence. "And roar for you to lead your own men." The silence was just as deafening as the roars only seconds ago. I sighed. "Very well, I shall lead your forces to Olympus and I shall-" A messenger came and ran up to me and whispered to me, his voice shaking.

"Lord Leonidas, there is an army headed here. 200 Centaurs, 300 Harpies, 100 Minotaur's and a…a…I don't know what it was." Somehow I knew what all these things were and I was unafraid. I nodded to him and addressed the crowd.

"An army approaches; 200 Centaurs, 300 Harpies, 100 Minotaur's and an unknown beast. They seek to destroy your Capsule, your home, your freedom and your hope. They seek to kill us with an unplanned attack. Prepare your defences, protect your young. All those in the military meet me in the headquarters." I stepped down into the crowd. "Courage and bravery, they are what will help us prevail." I tapped my helmet, linking to Saradesh, Korvardash and Colossus. "Did you get all that guys?"

Saradesh responded first. "Yes, but more are joining…even Varakelp are joining the forces, but only a few.

"Leonidas, forces are setting up increased defences here in our own capsule." The firm and cold voice of Colossus was filled with respect, funny how a name changes everything. "We can send you troops but they won't arrive until tomorrow."

I called down the mike in my helmet. "Saradesh, what do you think their ETA is?"

"Estimated time of arrival…3 hours." He paused and I heard him swear. "Fuck. I've been noticed, I don't know what that beast is but I have to go." His link cut off and I transferred to Korvardash.

"Korvardash. Their weaknesses?" There was a pause before his awed voice came through.

"Leonidas? War? It's happening; I've found the right one at last,"

"Korvardash, cut the bullshit, we don't have time for that. Weaknesses now!" there was no reply from him but Colossus filled in.

"Lord Leonidas, they are mostly close combat so you will want to cut down most of their close combat forces down, especially the Minotaurs and Varakelp. The Centaurs usually have bows and arrows with a cavalry sword. The unknown beast…you should weaken it at least with your ranged weapons, but focus mostly on the main army."

"Understood, set up your own defences and keep an eye out for any opposing forces…Leonidas out." I found myself stood in front of 3000 men and women plus my own 29. I stared at them before explaining the situation. We had two and a half hours to set up defences and organise deployment. Civilians would help with building and transporting resources and non-combatants in to the holds. I muttered to myself with a grin.

"Hell has come to us. Let us embrace it."


End file.
